italian immigrants Flashcards
experiences
business success
many italian immigrants set up successful catering businesses by opening fish & chip shops (like tortolanos) or cafes which were very popular among scot’s
experiences
hairdressing
they established the first hairdressing college in glasgow using the skills they had brought from the worlds of art & theatre to help make hairstyles a form of personal expression.
experiences / assimilation
strong community
they continued to speak in italian at home and published newspapers such as La Scozia in italian. many social gathering places such as Casa d’Italia in Glasgows West End kept italian culture alive.
experiences / scot’s reactions
political tensions
after mussolini took power in italy in 1922, some italians were targeted by anti-fascist Scots who were suspicious of them. some did openly support mussolini however many didn’t yet still experienced hostility.
scot’s reactions
working class
working class scot’s didnt object it italian immigrants because they tended to establish their own business or work within italian-owned businesses & industries. they weren’t competing w/ scot’s for jobs.
scot’s reactions
church of scotland and the media
the church of scotland claimed that the italian late night cafe culture was encouraging scottish teens to behave poorly and affecting their morals.
scot’s reactions
sobriety
italian cafe owners supported the scottish temperance movement by refusing to sell alcohol. many scot’s praised italians for this as it gave young’s scot’s an alternative to the pub.
assimilation
insular
italian immigrants and their children tended to mix exclusively within the italian community. they worked very long hours and had few days off & free days were spent within the community. they didn’t assimilate much.
assimilation
education
very few italians stayed in at school or went into college or uni to study further, instead opting to continue working within the family business. this prevented assimilation in scot professions.
assimilation
later generations
italian-scots began to integrate much more into scottish society in the 1920s and 1930s. marriage between italians and scots became much more common and young people began to have much more freedom to mix w/ scots. however their life sl entered around family and italian community.
